Father expresses grief over toddler's murder
Assaf Goldring tells investigators he was 'possessed by a demon' when he killed his three-year-old daughter Noa. Father to undergo psychiatric evaluation on Monday. 'He is pretending to be mentally ill, but can tell right from wrong,' police official says
Police investigators are trying to collect evidence from the friends and acquaintances of Assaf Goldring, in a bid to try and understand what caused him to murder his three-year-old daughter in Moshav Batzra on Saturday morning.
Goldring is expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation on Monday. During his police investigation he expressed his grief over his daughter's death, saying "I'm sorry, I love her."
A police official said that Goldring's expression of grief was not accompanied by any feelings or expression of regret over his actions. "I don't know what happened," he told investigators. "I was possessed by a demon."
Goldring cooperated with his investigators, and essentially linked himself to the act and confessed. After meeting with his lawyer, he acted differently.
According to a police official, "On the one hand, he is pretending to be mentally ill, and on the other hand, during the interrogation, he can suddenly tell right from wrong, says he is maintaining his right to remain silent and answers questions only when he wants to. A mentally ill person doesn’t act that way."
Premeditated murder?
The father's line of defense is expected to be "mental insanity" due to taking pills before the murder. His attorney, Gadi Zilbershlag, noted that his client was in a serious mental state and had yet to understand what happened.
"He wants to commit suicide and reiterates that he wants to end his life," the lawyer said. "I think he doesn't understand what he did, and this is a terrible act."
Despite the insanity claim, police officials believe that the murder was premeditated and that Goldring had planned the act in advance and strangled little Noa with a nylon food wrap while she was asleep.
Goldring's remand has been extended by 10 days. Investigators are waiting for the completion of a psychiatric evaluation and plan to question the father's family members, friends and colleagues.
"We won't leave one person he had been in contact with who won't be summoned for questioning," a police source said.
Daniel Edelson and Ahiya Raved contributed to this report
